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Milwaukee News Site Publishes My 'Bees' Video

8/2/2011

10 Comments

 
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Today, the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service published the video I did about beekeeper Larry Adams as part of the Platypus training workshop, in which several of my Diederich College of Communication colleagues participated. After the Platypus trainers rejected my initial story ideas, Sharon McGowan, the news service's editor-in-chief, shared Adams' story with me. (Disclosure: I'm an NNS editorial board member.) It was an answer to my prayers and the trainers happily supported the assignment.

Many Milwaukee residents knew of the contributions of Adams and his wife, Sharon Adams, in helping to clean up and restore the Walnut Way neighborhood in Lindsay Heights. Not as many know, though, that he keeps several beehives in their backyard on North 17th Street. His grandfather introduced Adams, an ex-Marine, to beekeeping as a child in Birmingham, Ala. A decade ago, not long after he and his wife helped create the Walnut Way Conservation Corp., Adams took a beekeeping course and then installed the hives to begin exposing his community, especially children, to a force of purposefulness and sustainability that typically goes unnoticed.

For me, this video assignment is a source of enormous pride – my first real effort at video journalism and certainly my first attempt at editing in Final Cut Pro. The trainers showed us our first Final Cut Pro X shortcuts on the Tuesday of that weeklong session, and this video (with lots of their help) was edited and premiered four days later.

10 Comments
Andrea Anderson
8/31/2011 05:43:59 am

I simply can not believe you did this four days after learning FInal Cut Pro X. This is a well put together video. As a professor once told me, "Show, don't tell," and you did just that. Great job covering an interesting topic.

Reply
Becca French
8/31/2011 05:55:31 am

It's wonderful that your story got published, because not only is it interesting, but the video is well put together. The way you let Larry Adams tell his own story and explain the process is very captivating. I've heard both positive and negative things about Final Cut Pro, but it seems that it worked out very well for you.

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Sarah
8/31/2011 06:59:27 am

This is a great post because it really shows how you immediately used your knowledge of how to use Final Cut Pro X. The post serves as a way to not only stress your knowledge of the program, but also how you're using that knowledge to serve the community and tell stories of people like Larry Adams.

Reply
Eric
8/31/2011 07:49:56 am

It is absolutely amazing that you put this together in four days. I also enjoyed the story immensely, yet I can't help but think that I would've been slightly terrified of all the bees.

Reply
Ben Sheehan
8/31/2011 08:16:42 am

Great job with the video and its structure; it held my interest throughout. Larry Adams sounds like a cool guy and I enjoyed seeing how he uses his bees to help young people. BEE the Difference! (I apologize for that lame pun.)

Reply
Katie Doherty
8/31/2011 08:21:07 am

Personally, I found Ben's post berry punny. But on a serious note, video journalism scares me. Great job on this work. Good thing I'm in college to learn from experienced professors.

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Erin Caughey
8/31/2011 02:24:15 pm

I enjoy being able to relate to your experience, along with seeing how you came about finding your story. While I have used the the programs, I am excited to know what differences and similarities there are between our two projects. Although I understand the story is centered on Larry Adams, I would have liked to hear others perspectives on what he was doing to impact the community of Walnut Way.

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Alec Brooks
9/1/2011 02:42:26 am

I like how you let the beekeeper do the talking and avoided narrating it yourself. Sometimes narration is the way to go, but I think in this story it works better without.
I agree with Erin that it would have been better to have other perspectives. Hearing from the teens that participated would have added more depth.

Reply
Ryan Ellerbusch
9/1/2011 02:43:35 am

Video journalism is evolving today and you did a great job profiling beekeeper Larry Adams. I did a few video projects like this in high school and heard nothing but positive feedback. Great transitions between the beekeeper footage and the interview with Mr. Adams. Keep up the great work with Final Cut Pro.

Reply
Sarah Hauer
9/1/2011 05:59:11 am

It was exciting to me to see you trying something new with your video. I also enjoyed knowing that your first ideas were rejected. It allows readers to know that you don't do everything perfectly.

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    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

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